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David Williams, (Environment & Climate Editor, Newsroom NZ)
The Ruataniwha dam is back in the spotlight! Independent media outlet, Newsroom’s, David Williams directs bright rays of sunlight onto the otherwise dark operations of dam lobby group, Tukituki Water Security Project (TWSP)).
You can read David William’s story, titled “Dam plan on life-support seeks next jolt”, here.
The big reveal here is that the local farmer-business consortium who own the consents to build the Ruataniwha dam, and who are working alongside the TWSP group, have applied to the Hawkes Bay Regional Council to extend the consents – currently due to expire in June 2024 – out till 2030.
Regional Council staff have appointed an independent commissioner to hear the consent application in early-September.
The big question here is why is such a controversial consent application being heard by a single commissioner, and not a panel, and why won’t CHB residents who will be adversely impacted by the dam have an opportunity to submit as part of the process?
Clearly all is not going to plan for TWSP. Perhaps they have run out money since local consumer-owned power distribution company, Centralines, was outed by Wise Water Use for gifting TSWP $200,000.00 without disclosing this publicly? Centralines’ Chair and member of TWSP, Ian Walker, stepped down from the Centralines’ Board this month.
Front person for the TWSP group – local farmer Mike Petersen – announced the formation of his group back in June 2021 with the explicit assurance that “there aren’t any predetermined outcomes and this isn’t a re-run of previous water projects (i.e. Ruataniwha dam v.1).”
That was Petersen’s first fabrication.
Six months later, a report commissioned by the TWSP group (and paid for by Centralines' gift of public money) concluded that – surprise!! – Ruataniwha v.2 was the only viable option to address CHB’s water security issues. The Report’s Executive Summary (5 pages) is available here (scroll down to the link at the bottom of the page to download the full report (74 pages)).
Wise Water Use are calling Petersen’s bluff on the claim that CHB has a water security issue – it doesn’t – it has an issue of over allocation and squanderous use of our precious water resource:
Just 20 irrigators in CHB are allocated nearly 70% of the district’s total surface and groundwater allocation;
Over 40% of that water is allocated to mostly corporate-owned intensive diary operations;
This compares to just 9.5 % allocated to all the towns in CHB!.
Petersen provides comment for William’s Story, little of which bears scrutiny:
“There will be a hydroelectric plant on the dam”
This spin was used for Ruataniwha v.1 as well, then quietly died. Hydroelectric is not economically viable, in part due the 20 km distance electricity would need to travel, and the infrastructure which would need to be built, in order to hook up to the nearest substation in Ongaonga, as reported here.
“The TWSP are currently going around marae consulting mana whenua”.
Are they? Wise Water Use has not been able to find a single person who can confirm that Petersen’s group have stepped onto local marae and consulted mana whenua.
“There will not be a single dairy conversion” (this assertion comes with the gold-plated 'Petersen guarantee')
Words are cheap – write that disclaimer into the contracts to take water from Ruataniwha v.2 and see how many farmers sign up.
“The dam is about the environment, not irrigation”
Really? Of 100m m3 from Ruataniwha v.2, the lion’s share of 80m m3 will go to irrigation, while just 20m m3 will be set aside to supplement river flows currently depleted by existing irrigation. Hawkes Bay Regional Council ratepayer's will pay for that water at commercial rates (Petersen omits to mention this). Reverse those figures and then tell us it’s “about the health of the river and its people” (Petersen’s favourite slogan).
David William’s well researched story is great longform journalism. It’s a slightly longer read, at around 3,000 words; however, provides a useful history of the Ruataniwha dam, and brings the reader up to speed with its current status, and the intrigues of Petersen’s group. Make a coffee and take the time to view this must-read story.
Trevor Le Lievre
(Spokesperson, Wise Water Use)
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